Revenge
by hutchshottie
Summary: The Torchwood team thought they had seen the last of him, but he wasn't ready to give up on Jack. Not yet. But it was time for games and fun. When Jack and the team leave him alone in the hub, an enemy of Jack returns and kidnaps Ianto. Taking him all over the galaxy, taunting Jack to follow. Will Ianto Jones survive this game of chase? Will he return to Jack?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer. I do not own Torchwood or the characters (wish I kinda did) O/C are totally mine though!

Revenge

Chapter 1. Fun in The Hub.

No matter how many times he slept on it, the makeshift bed in the hub was not a good substitute for a normal king size comfy bed. But Jack lived in the Hub, a private section housed his bed, cabinets and all the makings of a cute studio apartment. He tossed and turned over and over again as he tried to get a few minutes sleep. Jack knew he was in a deep sleep as the familiar feeling of the regular dreams started to invade his mind. For the last few weeks he had been plagued with dream after dream. He couldn't make head nor tail of them but he didn't want to bother the team with them. They had been run off their feet for the past few weeks as the amount of rift activity and Weevil sightings had increased and the team were finding it hard to have a few moments to themselves. As soon as they had returned from the last sighting Jack had ordered them to head home. Gwen had rushed back to Rhys for a nice romantic evening, Owen had headed out for a date, Tosh had headed home for a nice relaxing night in. Only Ianto wanted to stay, but Jack had insisted he head home. After a lot of arguing and persuading, Ianto had left. Not long after, Jack had fallen asleep. The dreams came and refused to go. The images invaded his mind as he tossed and turned. He didn't understand them but he did know they scared him. Each night he would see the pained looks on his teams faces as they fought off monsters and aliens. But tonight's was different. He could see Ianto, the pain and fear on his face scared Jack. Something or someone was hurting him. He couldn't see who or what, but he knew Ianto was in pain. His young eyes were full of tears, of pain. He had never seen Ianto so scared, not since the events at Breacon. An image of Ianto, laying on the ground...crying in pain was too much for him. Jack tossed and turned again and in a split second he jolted awake as the terrifying scream of his lover echoed through his mind. Jack sat up, covered in sweat and panting away.

"Not again" He thought to himself as he recalled his dream. He knew he needed to tell the others, but this last one would be left out. Something about it made him feel uneasy. He swung his legs out of the bed and put his head in his hands. The clang of a pot got his attention and he looked up. He knew what that sound was. He got up, forgoing the effort of putting on a t-shirt or robe. He left his room and headed through the maze that was the Torchwood Hub. He noticed the familiar figure of Ianto standing by the coffee station.

"What are you doing?" He asked leaning on a support beam, crossing his arms in disproval.

"My job, coffee?" Ianto replied, flashy the cheeky smile that made Jack's heart melt.

"I sent you home." Jack said. He walked down the mesh stairs and up another set to join Ianto on the upper level.

"I went home, but now I am back." Ianto turned to hand Jack his famous coffee. Jack put his arm around the young man's waist and gently pulled him closer. He leant in and gently kissed him.

"Trust my Ianto to ignore my orders."

"I didn't ignore them sir, just stretched them a bit." Ianto kissed him back, passion evident in his kiss. The lovers pulled apart and Jack smiled as Ianto handed him his coffee. He took a sip and smiled again.

"Just like you...perfect in every way."

"Oh lord, leave it out will ya." Owen's voice boomed as he came through the clog door, Tosh right behind him.

"Leave them Mr Grumpy." Tosh ribbed him as she walked behind him and headed to her work station. "Just because your night sucked."

"Really, what happened?" Jack asked the young doctor.

"Nothing." Owen replied. Jack knew that wasn't the answer he wanted. He glared at him. "Okay, turned out...she was married. Her husband called her in the middle of the dinner to say he was coming back from his trip early. See nothing special."

"Plenty more fish in the sea Owen." Jack said.

"Easy for you to say, you have found one." Owen said. "A fish that wears suits but still."

"Hey...since when am I the fish?" Ianto asked. Jack smiled at him and turned back to Owen and Tosh.

"What are you two doing in early? I gave you all the night off." Jack asked them.

"I wanted to get an early start on the Rift Predicator program, I am nearly done with it." Tosh said.

"And I...I came in with her." Owen said. Jack glared at him with a sneaky look in his eye. "Its not what you think Mr One Track Mind. I went to Tosh's last night after the date, we chatted, had wine and I crashed on her couch."

"Right!" Jack smiled looking over to Tosh. Ianto came over to Tosh's computer and handed her a coffee, she smiled at him as he walked away. "So Tosh, you say you are close to finishing it?"

"Yes. I figured with the increased activity over the last few weeks, we really needed this program to be up and running soon. Been working on it in my spare time." She said.

"Well I appreciate it." Jack said. "Owen, when you are done moping around come and give Tosh a hand. Maybe we can get this program finished today." Jack said.

"I am not moping around" Owen called from the autopsy room, his home away from home. Jack looked up to find Ianto, he wasn't in the area so Jack decided to look for him. He headed though the base of the Hub and through to the lower levels.

"Ianto, you down here?"

"Here sir." Ianto replied. Jack walked through the dark hall to the archive room. Ianto was stood at a cabinet, filing away some more paperwork. "Just thought I would take advantage of the quiet and get a head start on the pile of filing on my desk."

"Good idea." Jack said. He leant his back against a cabinet and looked down to his shoes. Ianto put away some papers and looked over to him.

"Is something bothering you?" The young man asked him.

"I have been doing this job for so long, I have seen things, hundreds of things. Had millions of dreams but..."

"But what?" Ianto asked him sensing Jack wanted to talk.

"Over the past few weeks I have had more and more dreams, and they have been disturbing."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ianto asked him.

"They were just images, horrible images but they are just dreams right?"

"Well dreams can tell you a lot about yourself. In some cultures, dreams are important...a way of telling the future." Ianto described. Jack looked at Ianto.

"That was what I was afraid of."

"Why? What did you see?" Ianto stood in front of Jack.

"A lot of faces, everyone's face. Gwen, Owen, Tosh...and you. You were in pain. Something was hurting you." He said.

"Not all dreams come true Jack." Jack couldn't believe how calm Ianto was. "I once had a dream an elephant followed me to work and set up inside the hub." He laughed. Jack managed a quick smile.

"Trust you to make me smile. But you are right." Jack said. The familiar shriek of the alarm echoed through the hub. "Not again." Jack rolled his eyes. He ran from the room, Ianto on his heels and headed for Tosh's computer.

"Rift activity, a corner of Bute Park, near Cardiff Castle." Tosh described.

"Any idea on what it is this time?" Jack asked.

"No." Tosh replied. The group grabbed their weapons and coats, getting ready for the fight.

"Owen, Tosh...lets head out. Ianto..." He noticed the young man was also getting himself prepared. "No...stay here. Call Gwen and get her to meet us there."

"I can help Jack." Ianto was slightly annoyed that Jack didn't want his help.

"No, stay here. Monitor the computers and inform us if anymore spikes occur."

"Jack..."Ianto started to say. Jack put his arm on Ianto's shoulder.

"Please, I need you to stay here. For me." He said. Ianto saw the serious look in the Captain's eyes. He nodded in agreement and painfully watched the others once more leave on a mission without him. The cog door closed behind them and Ianto put his earpiece in, pressed a few numbers on his phone and waited for it to ring. A few rings later and Gwen picked up.

"The others need you at Bute Park near the castle, rift spike."

"I am in my car on the way. Meet you there?" She asked him

"No, I am left babysitting the office." Ianto replied. Gwen sensed the upset in his voice and wasn't sure how to reply.

"Well, we will see you when we return" Gwen replied.

"Stay safe." Ianto said. Gwen hung up the phone and Ianto stood looking at the computer screens. He knew the reason why Jack didn't want him to tag along, but he hated it. He was as much a part of the team as the others and he should be out there helping them, not picking up half drunk coffee cups. He was used to it. His first few months at Torchwood were full of coffee making, dry cleaning and dirty jobs. He didn't mind. He wanted to be there, to be part of the organisation. But over the last few months, Jack had included him on more missions. Ianto knew that since the events at Breacon and the arrival and threat of Captain John Hunt, Jack was more reluctant to let his lover out to fight. This time it was a direct action of his dream, but Ianto still hated it. He knew the others were invaluable in the field. Owen was the doctor, there if someone was hurt. Tosh was the techo head, able to help on that front and rather experienced in rift patterns. Gwen had the heart and fighting soul. What could Ianto do? Hand out coffee as they are fighting the forces. No, maybe he was better at the hub. He picked up Tosh's coffee cup and walked back up to the upper level, back to his coffee machine.


	2. Blowing In The Wind

The black SUV of Torchwood pulled up alongside the entrance to Bute Park. Jack, Tosh and Owen got out. It was early morning and the locals were out and about, heading to work, heading to school. Jack didn't want to rush head on into the unknown with all these innocent people around. The three strolled causally through the park, trying to keep an eagle eye out for the disturbance. Tosh looked at her handheld monitor that was connected to her computers back in the hub. It told her the location of the rift spike.

"It's about 100 yards in that direction." Tosh instructed pointing to the left. The team started to head to the direction Tosh had pointed out when her machine made another noise. The others stopped and looked at her.

"What is going on?" Jack asked her.

"Not sure, another spike I think." Tosh replied. Jack touched his headset.

"Ianto, what are you reading?" He spoke into it.

"Another spike in Bute Park, the other side of your location." Ianto said.

"Where is Gwen?" Jack asked him.

"She is on the way." Ianto replied. Jack looked to Tosh and Owen.

"You two head to the second reading, I will find this one." He touched his earpiece again. "Gwen can you hear me?"

"I am pulling up behind the SUV now." She said.

"Join me." Jack said to her. In seconds Jack saw the familiar figure of Gwen running towards her.

"Ianto filled me in. He seems pretty annoyed you left him behind." Gwen said as they ran off.

"He won't stay mad at me for long." Jack smiled.

"He is as much a part of the team as anyone Jack." Gwen said. The two were still running, looking for evidence of the spike.

"I know, but I am still the boss and when I want someone to stay behind, I will say." Jack said. "No sign of anything." The two stopped running and looked around. The park was peaceful. Nothing was disturbed.

"I don't get it. What caused the spike?" Gwen asked.

"Not sure. Could be another Weevil who has instantly run for cover." Jack said.

"Why so much rift activity, its like someone has declared open season on earth." Gwen said.

"Yeah and each time, there is nothing to chase, no evidence. There could me loads more aliens running around the city and we have no idea where they are."

"Or what they are." Gwen pointed out.

"Well whatever caused this spike, is long gone." Jack said. Touching his earpiece in called through to Tosh and Owen.

"Anything your end?" He asked them.

"Nothing, as peaceful as a bloody Sunday morning." Owen replied.

"Is there any sign of disruption, anything to indicate where, whatever it is, came through." Jack asked.

"Unless a discarded plastic bag is the alien, no." Owen said.

"Meet back here. We need to track to see if something or someone came from the rift and is loose somewhere." Jack said. He looked at Gwen who had the familiar annoyed look about her.

"What?" He asked.

"Why did you leave Ianto back at the hub?"

"That's my business."Jack said.

Ianto stood and watched the monitors flash as it detected another spike in the park. He passed the information onto Jack and the others who dutifully set out to dispatch whatever had caused it.

Sure Ianto was annoyed that Jack had made him stay, but he knew the reasons behind it. Now he had to babysit the hub while the others were out having adventures. Unable to resist the temptation inside him, he picked up some rubbish from around Tosh's computer and walked over to the bin and threw them in. He noticed some papers unorganised on Gwen's desk. He walked over and started to clear them up. There was nothing else he could do from the hub to help the team unless they find the cause of the spikes.

Picking up his cup of coffee, Ianto sat down on the old couch. He sipped it and looked around the disserted hub. He loved the job but sometimes he felt frustrated by it all. Jack had told him many times that he was a part of the team, the soul of it. But he was still struggling to feel like it. The other's had their uses, they contributed to the team. A Doctor, an Cop, a techno genius. It made him wonder why Jack kept him around, beside the occasional night together and game of naked hide and seek.

Slightly tired, Ianto sat back and rested his head back on the sofa. He closed his eyes but a sudden wind made him open them. He stood up as the wind whipped through the hub. It got stronger and he put his arms over his face to protect them. He went to activate his earpiece but a huge gust of wind knocked him off his feet, his earpiece fell out of his ear and skirted across the floor.

He looked over to where it landed and started to reach out for it. As he did a big cloud of orange light formed in front of him from the middle of the hub. Ianto slowly got up, disbelief overcoming him. He had seen this before, not long ago. He knew nothing good was going to come from it. He pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it towards the mist. Slowly an unwanted but familiar figure slowly appeared in the cloud, forming into a human being. It stepped out of the cloud as it closed behind.

"Well well well, its Eye Candy."


	3. Scooby Doo?

Ianto kept his gun levelled as Captain John Hunt came walking through the orange cloud and into the hub. He looked around and noticed Ianto stood on a slightly higher level in front of him.

"Still as hot as ever." John said.

"What are you doing here?" Ianto asked him keeping his gun levelled at the time agent.

"Shopping, in need of a nice pair of boots." John replied. Ianto, not in a mood for John's comments, cocked the trigger on the gun. "Now now, don't get over excited. Well not like that anyway. Save it for later." In a split second he pulled out a small item and aimed it at Ianto.

"What do you think you are going to do with that?" Ianto asked.

"This." John replied. A red beam omitted from the object, a laser beam and John fired it towards Ianto. It hit the side of the gun he was holding. The force and pain made Ianto drop the gun and clutch his hand in pain. "What about these?" John smiled as he pulled out his two guns. "Want to see what these can do?" Ianto looked over to him, holding his hand close to him. "Unless you want me to shoot you, I would suggest you get down here." Ianto refused to move, John let a shot off that hit the sofa behind Ianto. "I really don't want to mess up that pretty face of yours. Get down here now." Reluctantly Ianto agreed and took the few steps that led down to the floor of the hub. He stood as far away from John as he could.

"Why are you here?" Ianto asked him.

"I left something behind last time, returned to pick it up."

"And what exactly is that?" Ianto asked.

"All in good time." John stepped closer to him, the guns levelled at him. Ianto wanted to move but he found that he was rooted to the spot. John got closer and stood by the side of the worried Welshman. The time agent leant his head closer to Ianto's neck and sniffed. "Oh I love that smell."

"Wha...what...smell?" Ianto said.

"Worry, fear. It smells like strawberries. You smell...intoxicating." John closed his eyes as he smelt him. Ianto felt sick and uncomfortable as he felt the man's breath in his neck. He tried to push away but John grabbed him around the throat and lifted him up. In a second he threw Ianto across the room. He clattered into a table. John walked over to the downed Ianto who was crouched up, holding his hand. With a swift kick, John kicked Ianto in the ribs. He fell back down coughing hard.

"Did they leave you all alone here? Poor poor Eye Candy. Leaving you alone one too many times. Babysitting the computers, that creature in the basement, the dead and frozen. A glorified babysitter."

"No!" Ianto coughed.

"Then why are you here alone while they are off playing Scooby Doo? Do they not need a tea boy out there. Does Scooby not need any Scooby snacks?"

"It's...complicated." Ianto tried to say. He tried to get up, clutching his bruised body as he did, but a boot to the back rooted him to the floor. John put his heavy boot on Ianto's back and pushed him back to the ground.

"Stay down." He growled. He took his foot off Ianto's back and knelt down beside him. Ianto wasn't about to cave to this man. He took advantage of John's lack of concentration. Ianto shot his arm out and tried to grab for one of the gun's in John's hand. The force knocked John to the ground, Ianto on top as he tried to wrestle the guns off him. John was a lot stronger and pushed Ianto off with force. He fell back and hit his head on a pole behind him. Slightly stunned, Ianto sat still for a brief second as he tried to shake the cobwebs from his head. John grabbed him by around the throat once more and lifted him off the ground. "I had no idea you have this much fight in you Eye Candy. It's rather sexy." Ianto started to cough as he struggled to breathe. John gripped tighter and tighter and in a second he hurled Ianto across the room again. He clattered into a side rail and fell to the ground. John stood over him, pointing a gun down at him.


	4. Alone

The rest of the Torchwood team gathered around the black SUV, checking a map laid on the bonnet. It had marks over it showing recent rift activity.

"If something came through, where did it go?" Gwen asked.

"These recent activities are once again in the same radius as previous spikes, maybe something is trying to break through at these places and cannot get through but keeps retrying. Could be why it is concentrated in roughly the same area." Tosh summarised.

"It is possible..."Jack started. He stopped when the alarm on Tosh's device once more sounded. She looked at the device.

"Another one?" Owen asked. "When is it going to stop?" Tosh didn't reply, she just gazed at the screen.

"Where is it this time Tosh?" Jack asked. Tosh didn't reply at first. "Tosh?"

"Not sure I understand." She said.

"What?" Jack looked at her.

"This says there is a large rift spike...at the hub." Tosh said.

"Well that is the Rift Manipulator Unit. It has to be." Owen said.

"No, I counter for that. No this is a defiant spike, a large one. Right in the middle of the hub." Tosh said. "Its large. Big enough for something to easily slip out of it. " Jack's face turned almost white as a realisation came to him.

"Ianto!" He exclaimed. In fear he touched his earpiece. "Ianto, can you hear me. What is going on there?" There was no answer. "Ianto, answer me." He looked at the anxious faces of the others. "Ianto, I need to hear your sweet and sexy voice." But still there was no answer.

"Maybe he is..." Gwen started to say. But Jack was already getting in the car.

"Owen, you drive. Ianto, answer me." He said once more into his earpiece.

"Maybe there is something wrong with the rift in the hub." Tosh suggested as she tapped away at her laptop in the car. Everyone got in and Owen sped away on his way back to the hub.

"If there is something wrong with the unit, what is going to happen inside the hub?" Gwen asked, concerned for Ianto.

"I am not sure" Tosh looked backed to her screen and tapped away again.

"Tosh anything?" Jack asked her.

"It has closed now, so if something came out it is more then likely in the hub with..."

"Ianto." Jack finished for her. "I shouldn't have left him alone." He said banging the side of the car interior.

"Ianto can handle himself Jack." Owen said, remembering the time Ianto showed his tough side by shooting Owen.

"It could just be a Weevil, Ianto knows how to handle them." Gwen said.

"He still shouldn't be alone with them. Owen step on it." Jack said. Owen accelerated and the car sped through the streets of Cardiff.

John looked down to Ianto, pointing the gun right at him. The young man looked in pain, in fear.

"Now are you going to behave?" John asked. Ianto didn't answer, he tried to cough away his pain. A slight sound drew John's attention. He could hear a voice. He looked slightly above him to see Iantos earpiece on the floor of the next level. Keeping his gun on Ianto, he jumped over the railing and onto the upper level. He picked up the earpiece and took a second to pocket Ianto's gun. He ran down the few steps and faced Ianto once more.

"Well I think someone is trying to call you." John smiled. He held the earpiece out in front of him and listened as Jack's strained voice came through.

_"Ianto, where are you?"_ Jack's voice came through.

"My guess is they will be so worried about you that they will come running back, kicking down the door."

"You have been watching...too many movies." Ianto coughed.

"No, I know Jack. He will come rushing in, worried about his dear Eye Candy. Like some kind of action hero."

"Is that why you are here? To get to Jack again?" Ianto asked him. John didn't answer. He walked over to Tosh's station and punched a few buttons. Soon the external camera's were on the screen. "Don't want them to surprise us, I like to be ready." John smiled. He looked down to Ianto, but the young man wasn't where he had left him. Looking up, John couldn't see Ianto anywhere. He cocked his gun back. All of a sudden, a force pushed him down. Ianto had sprung up from his hiding place and had tackled John to the ground. Now on top of him, Ianto delivered a punch to the man's face. It didn't phase John who punched Ianto back. The punch made Ianto reel back. He fell off John. John took this chance and grabbed Ianto by the hair, pulling him up.

"Puppy won't play dead." John said. He pulled his arm back and swiftly delivered another punch to Ianto's chest. This was too much for him and Ianto fell backwards. Laying on his back, Ianto could feel the pain coursing through his body, felt blood welling in the corner of his mouth. He didn't have much time to mentally count his injuries. John turned him over roughly, his face buried in the mesh of the floor. Ianto felt his arms being pulled behind him, a familiar cold metal clamping around his wrist as John secured his tough handcuffs to Ianto's wrists. John got off, panting from the fight. "You fight like this with Jack? No wonder he likes you."

_"Ianto, we are outside."_ A voice echoed from the earpiece on the floor.

"Showtime." John said.


	5. Gone

John pulled Ianto up roughly by the hair and positioned the young man in front of him. He placed one gun against his neck, the other pressed into his chest. The cog door hissed open and Jack, Gwen, Owen and Tosh ran in, their guns raised up. "About time you got here."

"Ianto!" Jack called seeing his lover in danger made his heart beat faster. "Let him go John."

"Is big Captain Jack Harkness afraid?" John smiled.

"Your fight is with me. Let him go."

"Now that doesn't work for me. I like a man who can bleed, can suffer, possibly die. Well you fit 2 of them. So I would rather you suffer in a different way." John pushed the gun a bit further into Ianto's neck.

"Ianto has nothing to do with this, this is between us John."

"We could make it a threesome. More exciting that way." John smiled as he sniffed at Ianto's neck. Jack could feel the anger rising inside of him.

"Not a chance, I will never let you near me again."

"Then playing with Eye Candy here is the next best thing." John pressed the gun further into Ianto's strained neck.

"Don't you dare touch him." Jack said.

"Spoil my fun why don't you."

"You know you won't win." Gwen said.

"Spunky one she is." John said. "I always win sweet cheeks."

"Like last time you were here ha. Who banished who?" Owen pointed out.

"Just part of the plan Dr." John said. Jack looked Ianto in the eyes, he saw pain and fear. Ianto could see Jack wanted to react, but he knew he wouldn't. He would play safe. Ianto knew he needed to stay calm and try and get free. But that was proving hard. John was holding onto him tight, the guns pushing in hard into his body. Jack stepped forward and put his arms out. He dropped his gun on the floor.

"Jack." Ianto managed to say, shocked at the man's move.

"Take me. Let Ianto go. I will go anywhere with you." Jack said. "Just don't hurt him."

"As much as that tempts me, that is not what is going to happen." John said. He moved the gun from Ianto's chest and placed it in his waist band. Using his free hand he pressed a button on his wrist strap. The orange mist formed behind him.

"John no!" Jack called.

"Now is the time to see how good you and your team really are Jack."

"Don't do it. Please." Jack pleaded with him. The orange rift behind John grew larger. John put his free hand on Ianto's arm and pulled him back towards the rift.

"Let him go!" Owen called out. Jack stepped closer to them, hoping to get close enough to grab Ianto.

"You want him, come and find him." John snarled as he pulled Ianto back and disappeared into the rift. Jack lunged forward to try and grab Ianto but Owen and Gwen pulled him back.

"Ianto!" Jack screamed. The rift closed behind them, leaving an empty space where the two had been.

"Ianto!"


	6. A Land Far Away

AN-A quick thanks to ALL my reviewers. I love them and I love you all. So a treat...a longer chapter!

No one in the hub moved. Jack was kneeling on the floor where the rift had been. Owen and Gwen knelt beside him. Tosh stood in shock.

"Where did he go?" Gwen asked breaking the silence. "Tosh can we track it? The rift, can we track it?" Tosh snapped out of the shock she was in and looked at Gwen.

"I don't think so, we have never tracked a rift backwards before." Tosh said.

"But can it be done?" Gwen asked her. Tosh started tapping at her computer, looking at her screens.

"Maybe." She said. Behind them Owen helped Jack to stand.

"You okay?" Owen asked him. Jack nodded as he looked into Owen's eyes. The realisation came back to him.

"Tosh, where did they go?" Jack asked.

"I don't know I can try developing a program that traces it back. But you have said before, there are hundreds of worlds out there that the rift could open onto." Tosh replied.

"She is right. They could be on any one of them." Gwen said.

"How are we going to search them all?" Owen asked.

"We don't. We need to establish where that rift came from and went to." Jack said.

"What about John. Is there anywhere he would take Ianto, places you two may have been, places he liked or lived?" Gwen suggested.

"I don't know...maybe." Jack said. Gwen noticed he sounded different, not the commanding leader she had grown to love. She turned to look at him. He looked distant, afraid.

"It's okay Jack. We will find him. We need to know what you know about John." She said.

"I...I..." Jack started to say. Gwen led him back to the sofa and sat him down. "I do all this, fight aliens, make enemies. I know it is dangerous...but I never once think about the ramifications of it. If you are all going to be safe."

"We knew the danger when we signed on Jack, so did Ianto. None of this is your fault." Gwen tried to reassure him. "We can dwell on these feelings later, we need to concentrate and try and track where they have gone." Jack looked at her. It was normally him that was the voice of reason, the one with the level head, the one they turned to for guidance. Now it seemed like Gwen was undertaking that role. Gwen's heart had been the reason Jack invited her to join Torchwood, but sometimes it caused the problems that Jack had to solve. Her love for Rhys had almost got Rhys and Ianto killed when criminals were holding them hostage, but it was her words that helped them so Ianto could escape. Right now he needed that level head of Gwen to guide him.

"Tosh is there anything we can track, a signal, a spike...anything?" Gwen asked her. Tosh had been working away frantically since Ianto had disappeared.

"I am not sure. I need to focus on one thing." She said.

"Try and track the energy that appeared, then disappeared from here. That will be the energy from the spike John used to travel to and from the hub." Jack said. "Gwen, check the cameras. I want to see everything that happened here. Maybe there is a clue as to where they went. Owen, I have a feeling these increased rift spikes may have something to do with John's appearance. We need to collate the information." He started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked him.

"To figure out Ianto's filing system. There has to be some more information on John, then what I can remember from our time together." Jack said. The others watched him walk away, seeing a dejected and different side of Jack. They didn't like it and they knew the only reason for it. Ianto.

The travelling through the rift spike had taken a lot out of Ianto. His head was swimming and he was having trouble focusing his eyes. There was also a sweet taste in his mouth, he wasn't sure what it was, but it interested him. He could feel the dirty ground beneath him as he shook his head to try and reduce the blurring in his eyes. His hands were still bound behind him and he couldn't use them to wipe away the dodgy focus. He looked around him. He could make out he was in the middle of a grassed area, a field. Maybe he was still on Earth, just where? He thought. There was nothing around him. No buildings, hills, people. Just a grass area. He looked down at his dirty suit, there was some wear and tear and he was covered in dust. He tried to stand himself up but his cuffed hands were making it hard.

"Don't even try it." He heard John say from behind him. He turned around to see John stood towering over him, one of his guns held in his hand.

"Where are we?" Ianto asked looking around him.

"Either the hills from Sound of Music or the Gamma Nebula. I am thinking the last one." John said.

"Where?" Ianto was confused.

"A planet called Couron. Nice place...well sometimes." John replied.

"Why have you brought me here?" Ianto asked him.

"Why not, nice planet, quiet. Far away from anywhere or anyone." John smiled at Ianto.

"Nothing will stop him, he will find me." Ianto said.

"That I am counting on. But not yet." He reached down and pulled Ianto up. "We got some walking to do. Thought we would have landed a bit closer to town." Ianto struggled to stand beside him.

"You expect me to walk like this?" Ianto pointed out to him.

"You telling me you and Jack never tried to bondage thing." John said. Ianto didn't answer, he just glared at the man, trying to think of the most painful way to get back at John. "Maybe I should show you the benefits of it." John brushed his hand over Ianto's cold cheek but Ianto pulled back.

"Don't you touch me." Ianto said through gritted teeth, trying not to let his anger break through.

"You are not in control of that right now." John said. He pushed Ianto in front of him. "Move!" Ianto walked a few steps, followed by John, but he stopped and turned to John. "What's the matter Eye Candy, you don't understand instructions."

"I am not going anywhere with you." Ianto said.

"I think you are." John pushed Ianto who stumbled a bit. He soon regained his footing and turned to look once more at John. He was about to say something, but John raised his gun and pressed it against Ianto's forehead. "Move!" Ianto wanted to fight back, he wanted to show John he would not be pushed around. But he was intelligent, he knew the odds were stacked against him. He was in an unknown land, unknown planet. He was unarmed, with no help in sight. He knew Jack had no way of knowing where he was. So he had to do what John wanted and hope deep down that he could find the chance to escape and return to earth. He walked forward, a few steps ahead of John. All he could see around him was fields, loads of them. Nothing was in sight. No town, or houses. Just fields.

This was going to be a long walk.


	7. A Hundred Deaths

**AN- Thank you once again for the lovely reviews and welcome to the new readers. Apologise for taking so long to update, but a torn rotator cuff has limited the use of my arm. So to say sorry and thank you for reading. I am posting 3 chapters tonight. Enjoy!**

The hub was busy but silent. No one said a word. They could see the destruction caused by John's untimely visit, the items all over the floor, broken coffee cups, blood drops. But no one wanted to stop and tidy up. They wanted to concentrate on the jobs in hand. All of which would help find Ianto. He had always been the quiet one, the one that kept to himself and watched the others run off and chase the aliens. At times the others had forgotten he was there, but recently he had been more established as part of the team, he had fought alongside them and he was more than a receptionist. He would lay down for any of them, now it was their time to be there for him. Gwen, Owen and Tosh were all sat in front of computer screens, scrolling through screens, information, videos, trying to collate what information they could. They knew little about John, even Jack was clueless about the man he had spent 5 years with. In his defence it was only 2 weeks in real time. The team only knew what Jack had told them and what they had seen for themselves when he first appeared in their lives. And they didn't like one inch of him. Tosh was desperately trying to figure out how she could track the rift back through a hole in space that was now closed. Gwen was going through the last hour of footage from the hub, her hand to her mouth as she watched the scenes.

"Oh my god." She exclaimed.

"What?" Jack said as he came up behind her, surprising her. She pressed a few buttons and replayed the images. The rest of the team stood around the computer and watched the images. Flashes of John and Ianto appeared on the screen. The team watched in horror as Ianto's fight to save himself was displaying in front of them. Each time John hurt him, Jack's anger grew more. "This was a deliberate attack. He knew Ianto was alone. How?"

"Maybe it was luck." Tosh said.

"No, he knew what he was doing. He targeted Ianto." Jack said.

"But how?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know. But I intend to find out." Jack said. The group stood in shock while the images continued to run on the screen. Despite the anger and fear Jack felt, he felt a sense of pride as he watched Ianto fight. The young man was refusing to give up, despite being thrown around and kicked about. He was still determined not to give up. Despite the horror of the situation, he was finding this side of Ianto rather sexy. The images began to catch up with the moment the others arrived and Gwen turned them off and looked to Jack.

"John must have manipulated his own rift to open in the middle of the hub. How?" Gwen asked.

"His wrist strap, it has to be. He used it to escape so he must have used it to arrive." Owen pointed out.

"We need to figure out how these things work, how they tick. Maybe we can use it to track where he went." Jack said looking at Tosh. She had enough to do with trying to track the rift, but she knew she couldn't say no.

"I can look into it." Tosh said.

"I'll help." Gwen said.

"Owen how are you getting on with collating the information?" Jack asked.

"So far most of the spikes we tracked turned out to be nothing. Something tells me John caused them. Maybe as a distraction."

"Yeah, to stretch us so we let our guard down. When I catch him I will make sure he suffers hundred deaths." Jack said.

"Is that even possible?" Gwen looked at him and then realised that Jack himself had gone through hundreds himself. Each time more painful than the other. "I mean for him."

"The way I am feeling, I will find a way to make it possible." Jack said.

"I don't get it." Gwen said. "John wants Jack, so why drag Ianto off to some far off place where Jack can't go to him."

"Because its a game to him. A game of chase. He wants me to suffer the hurt of not knowing where he has taken Ianto so when the time is right...I will agree to go with him." Jack said.

"Which you won't do right...right Jack?" Gwen looked at him.

"No...but we need to find Ianto. If John learns that, he won't let Ianto go."


	8. Happening Again

The walk was longer then Ianto had thought it was going to be. His feet were aching and he was sure there were blisters forming on them. Served him right for insisting on wearing nice and smart Dr Marten shoes for work everyday. Despite the fact that made his outfit complete, they were doing nothing for his feet right now. He felt like taking them off and walking in his socks, but he could sense the roughness of the ground beneath him and knew he would be better with a few blisters then some cuts from weird rocks. The aching was going up his legs slowly. He needed to stop, to sit down but behind him John marched on like a man possessed. Prodding him in the back if he slowed down. Ianto knew John wanted to get somewhere in a hurry and right now, he wasn't in the mood to help him. He stopped and John almost walked into him.

"Where is the traffic light Eye Candy?" John smiled at him. Ianto turned to look at him.

"My name is Ianto Jones." He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh feisty indeed!" John said. Ianto stood in silence looking at him, John wasn't sure what to make of this. The two stood looking at each other, anger in Ianto's eyes, desire in John's. Ianto's sexy look was practically turning John on, but he had to deal with the business in hand. "And pray tell me, is there a specific reason you stopped moving."

"If you want me to be more productive, you need to take these stuff things off." Ianto said trying to show him his bound hands.

"Not a chance, you look all sexy." John smiled

"Where do you think I can go? I have no idea where I am." Ianto tried to ignore the sexual comments.

"Oh you would try, that I can count on." John said. "Its not far."

"I don't care. I need to stop. Its not easy walking like this."

"Tough. Keep walking." John answered, his smile changing to an annoyed grin. He pushed Ianto forward and Ianto carried on walking. The blisters on his feet were really starting to bother him and he hoped deep down that their final destination was going to show itself really soon. They walked a bit further and soon enough John put a hand out to stop Ianto.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He said. Ianto looked to where John was glancing. Just slightly down the hill they were obviously on, was a small town. It looked like it was stuck in a time warp but as they were on another planet, Ianto was not surprised at all. The houses were like huts, dirty, old. Small winding dust streets wound around the houses with people trying to sell their wears from carts dotted around the town.

"Well wouldn't call it beautiful..." Ianto started to say. John swipe a hand hard across his cheek and Ianto stumbled back.

"This place is full of so much, more then you could imagine." John said.

Jack had headed back to his office, he wanted to sit in silence and collect his thoughts. As he walked through the hub he came across Ianto's discarded coffee mug and picked it up placing it on the side. The handle was broken and Jack held it in his hands for a while. He made a mental note to try and fix it as soon as he could, he wanted it back in its usual place before Ianto returned. Jack was about to return to his office when an uncharactistic swear word came from Tosh. Jack turned to look at Gwen who shrugged in disbelief.

"Problem Tosh?" Owen asked before Jack could.

"I designed everything that could track and predict the rift, everything we need to make our day better and I forgot to factor in that we might want to track the reverse. Nothing is working. Damn it." She said. Jack wandered up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We will figure it out." He said. Tosh put her head in her hands, annoyed with herself. She was always hard on herself if she couldn't figure problems out that got in the way of their work, but this one was more to her, to them all. Any miscalculation could get in the way of finding Ianto.

"I have tried everything I can think of to track the rift back, reversed calculations, tracked rift pattern indicators...nothing." She said.

"Then take a break, walk away from it. You will figure it out in the end, you just need time." Jack said. Tosh glared at him, a bit uneasy about his relaxed attitude. Only minutes ago Jack was blazing fire from the anger he felt and vowed vengeance on John and whoever got in his way. Now he was calm, relaxed and almost level headed. Gwen and Owen had noticed it too.

"Jack, are you alright?" Gwen asked. Their leader looked at each one, a gentle look in his eyes.

"I am...fine." He hesitated, this to Gwen was a sign that he was not as he was saying. "Its no good going into this like a bull in a china shop. We need to be calm and levelheaded."

"Since when have you been calm when one of us is in danger?" Owen asked. He knew it was true. Whenever one of them was hurt, in danger, or threatened. Jack would change from the loveable rouge to a hot headed, revenge driven freak. Owen had actually dreaded the day that something might happen to Ianto, he had imagined Jack going off his rocker with anger and vengeance. But here he was, like a granny greeting her grandchildren.

"It doesn't help to be hot headed." Jack said quietly, walking away from them. Gwen knew this was not a good sign, Jack was not himself. She needed to talk to him. She followed him through the hub and into his office.

"Don't do it." She said. Jack looked at her in wonderment.

"Do what?"

"Act like this isn't bothering you, pushing us away and not acting the way you should."

"And that should be?"

"Like the Jack Harkness we know, the one who would tear the world apart to get one of us back. Why is this time any different? Its Ianto."

"Because it IS Ianto!" Jack yelled back. Gwen opened her lovely big eyes wider, looking at him in shock and disbelief. Jack looked at her, he knew he needed to explain. "I would tear the world apart for you all, but I am just afraid that it won't be enough to find Ianto. I am afraid of messing up and not getting him back."

"But why do you think you will mess up? You have always succeeded. Saved the world, saved millions of people, helped each of us."

"Because it wasn't enough for Geraint." Jack said.

"Who?" Gwen was almost speechless.

"In 1932 I met Geraint, a gentle man, kind and devoted. Much like Ianto. We were together, he meant the world to me. He didn't know what I done for a living. So when he was taken, he was too innocent to understand, to fight back."

"Taken? By who?" Gwen asked him.

"An alien bounty hunter called Reft. He had been on my tail for years, but I let my guard down when I was with Geraint and didn't think enough to protect him. Reft took him, and I couldn't find him. I searched for years, and nothing. I don't want it to happen to Ianto, I can't..."

"Jack, it won't. You have us, and we are not about to let some ass like John take Ianto from us. Even Owen wouldn't let anything happen to Ianto."

"There are thousands of other worlds out there, planets too, that John could have taken him to. The term needle in a haystack comes to mind."

"That is not the Jack Harkness I know. That Jack would get on, do what he could, inspire his team to help, go to the ends of the earth to get back what is his. You need to be him again." She froze for a moment. "Its Ianto."


	9. Home (not so) Sweet Home

Ianto was beginning to feel uneasy again as they walked through the dark streets of the market town. People looked at them, some did not. Most just glared down at Ianto. On many occasions he had tried to ask for help, but a prod from John each time was the only answer he was getting. John had got hold of Ianto's arm and dragged him through dirty road after dirty road. Ianto could smell more then the dirt in the streets, an array of rat droppings, rotting food and other unmentionables. People walked the streets with no shoes, not afraid of what they may walk in. Broken glass covered some of the walkways, yet they still walked with bare feet. Figures stood in dark doorways either talking to themselves or hiding behind a stereotypical hood. On occasion a creepy person would approach Ianto, touching, grabbing at him. Mumbling something in a language not yet familiar to him. John still dragged him roughly through the streets, shooing away snivelling hunched figures as they tried to offer ,what Ianto assumed was money, for the man's prisoner. Ianto was actually grateful that John was in a way, defending him. Being John's prisoner was far more appealing then being theirs. Ianto's thoughts stopped when John came to a halt outside what could only be described as a run down shack. He pushed Ianto through the open door and he soon closed it behind him. The room was dark and Ianto tripped on something on the floor. He fell down and hit a hard concrete floor. More parts of his body started to hurt, wonderful, he thought. A orange light started to fill the room . Ianto noticed John had lit an old fashioned lamp. As he started to look around the room he realised it wasn't old fashioned, it was part of the way of life in this town. Rudamentary, down trodded. Everything was basic, no mod cons. The room was cold, dirty. The walls looked like they were about to fall down any second, faded paint and what looked like writing on them. The floor had no carpet, no tile or lino. It wasn't a floor. It was just concrete, covered in dust that had blown in from the street. A small wooden ladder rested against a wall and let up to a hole in the wall. I looked like someone had forgotten to put a floor in the upper level. A makeshift stairway to the upper level, Ianto had no faith that ladder would support anyone. Across from him was what looked like a bed. Well, sort of. Ianto could see straw peeking out from under some blankets, but to him it looked good enough to be a queen sized bed. Anything soft would be a relief to him right now. John proceeded to sit down on it, lighting up a cigarette as he did. He tossed the match into a rather large hole in the centre of the floor close to Ianto, in seconds smoke billowed from the hole. Ianto looked closer at the smoke and saw it was a small fire pit. He glanced up at John who was now laying back on the bed.

"Where are we?" Ianto asked him.

"Home sweet home." John replied, not looking at him but glaring up to the high ceiling.

"Your home?" Ianto tried to sit up a bit but his bound hands were making the job harder.

"One of them yes."

"Well its in need of some redecorating."

"Have at it!" John said. "But don't expect Changing Rooms to come and help." Ianto tried to shuffle into a comfortable position but nothing was comfortable for him. "Having some trouble there?"

"How did you know?" Ianto replied. John stubbed his cigarette out on the hard floor and walked over to Ianto. He pulled Ianto up by the shoulders and helped him to stand. Ianto was silently grateful to stand as he was desperate to feel his feet once more. John turned him around and Ianto could feel him playing with the heavy cuffs on his hands. A beeping sounded and Ianto felt one of the iron shackles fall from a wrist. Thoughts started to flood his mind, he could blindside John and make a run for it. He would have no idea how to get off this planet, but he would try. He was about to make his move when John took the advantage and elbowed Ianto in the face. Ianto's head snapped back, making the pain in his shoulders worse. He was taken back by this and was off his guard as John dragged him back towards the side wall. He was roughly shoved to the floor and John snapped the other side of the cuff around a metal ring in the wall. John stepped back and looked at Ianto.

"Oh did you not know? In this place, people can read other's minds." John pulled his gun out from his waist band and cocked it, pointing it at Ianto. "If you once think of trying anything like that on me...you had better be a good fighter."

"You can't blame me for thinking it." Ianto said. He took the opportunity to use his free hand to rub his aching muscles. "Wait...why can you read my mind, but I can't read yours?"

"Skill, takes years to master. But don't worry, you will never get that far." He lowed his gun and placed it back in his waist band.

"So is this planet your original home?"

"No, happened by this planet while I was a Time Agent. Kinda grew on me." John described. He walked away and went to the fire pit, warming his hands on the growing flames inside it. With John's back turned to him, Ianto took a second to look around him, trying to gauge a way out. Anything to help him.

"When are you going to realise there is nothing you can do to get free?" John said. Ianto silently cursed. John had read his thoughts, this was going to take some getting used to. Ianto slumped back against the wall, dejected. "Come on, its not that bad." John said. John stood up and wandered over to the side of the room, into the darkness.

"Try being in my position." Ianto said.

"I have many times, quite enjoyed the cold cuffs on my skin, the struggling. Turned me on." John laughed. He appeared from the dark corner carrying something. Ianto couldn't make out what it was but as he got closer Ianto could see it was some sort of rag. He moved uneasy, wondering what John was going to do. "Oh relax Eye Candy." John said. He bent down and pulled off Ianto's shoes one by one, placing them on the floor beside him. He picked up the item he had been carrying and slipped them on Ianto's feet. They were canvas footwear, very basic. No soles on them, just harder material covered in rag and cloth.

"What are you doing?" Ianto asked.

"You have been complaining about those shoes since we arrived and frankly it was boring me." John said. Ianto hated to admit it but the new 'shoes' were actually a relief. His feet could breathe and no longer was the tough upper leather of them, pushed up against the growing blisters. His feet were throbbing but felt slightly better.

"Thanks." Ianto said.

"Don't worry pretty boy, payment will be collected soon." John smiled at him, a smile that made Ianto very uncomfortable and slightly worried.


	10. The Shock of It

Jack walked out of his office and strolled into the centre of the hub. Tosh was sat glaring at her computer screen, taping her fingers on the desk. Owen was writing on whiteboard he had pulled out of storage. They both turned to look at Jack and Gwen as they rejoined them.

"Okay, where are we?" Jack asked. He looked over to Owen and made a face that indicated he wanted to hear his side first.

"Well I am charting all the rift activity we have been chasing...as you asked. And trying to help Tosh isolate a...what is it?...Rift frequency point?" Owen looked over to her.

"Yes. Each spike has a certain frequency, not like from a radio, more like a gamma wave. Some can have a high value, some a low. And I think this indicates where it originated from. Like an IP address from the web. If these spikes have the same and we think John caused them. We could start to track where he came from."

"Even if you get the same frequency point, how can you tell where it came from. IP addresses are registered against computers and modems. I doubt worlds or planets have the same." Gwen asked.

"Or a yellow pages" Jack noted.

"I am going to compare them with rifts where we know the origin, including John first appearance. To see if they are the same. Its a place to start." Tosh said.

"Good, that's great. That is what I like to hear." Jack said. "Gwen, we need to carry on looking at CCTV. I want to check all areas where the rifts appeared, to see if there is anything we missed. At the same time, look at the time when John came through before. It might help." All of a sudden the bell alarm from the tourist office rang. Tosh turned the camera on. The image was of a delivery man stood at the door, waiting for the door to open.

"Was Ianto waiting for a delivery?" Tosh asked.

"Not that I know of" Jack said.

"I'll check it out." Gwen said. She disappeared and the others watched Gwen as she made her way to the office. She received a package and headed back down to the hub. Gwen walked through the big door and headed over to Jack. She handed him a small box.

"It's addressed to you." She said. Jack looked at the faces of each of his friends. No one knew Jack was there. The residents of Cardiff only knew that Ianto manned the office. Jack took the package carefully from her.

"Who knows you are here?" Gwen asked him.

"Not many, if any." He said. Tosh had stood up and was waving a small device over the package. "What are you doing?" Jack asked her.

"Checking that it is safe." Tosh said. She carried on waving the device and after a few seconds she nodded that it was safe. Jack placed it on the table and proceeded to open it. He looked inside and pulled out an envelope. Inside it he pulled some photographs.

"Are they..." Gwen started to ask as she looked over his shoulder. Jack nodded as he looked at photographs of Ianto, taken from a distance.

"John must have been following him." Jack said. Owen took the photos off Jack and checked them over.

"This was yesterday, I remember taking the mickey out of Ianto about the crooked tie." Owen said.

"And that one was the other day, I remember the shirt." Tosh said.

"He has been following Ianto for a while." Gwen said.

"He planned this, all of it." Jack said, anger evident in his voice.

"Jack, there is something in here you should see." Owen said. He pulled out a black object and handed it to Jack.

"It's another wrist strap." Jack noted. He placed it on his left wrist and pressed a button. A hologram of John started to appear.

_"So Jack, I see you got my package. Kinda like a postcard...wish you were here and all that junk. Well by now I can imagine you are either so enraged you want to blow my head off, or so upset you can't think straight. Well don't sit back on that sexy ass for long Harkness. Your Eye Candy may need you soon. He will want to see you bursting through the door all butch and man like. Actually I would love to see that too. Hang onto this wrist strap, when I want to talk to you, I will. Oh and Jack...I will keep him all warmed up for you."_

John had left Ianto alone for a few minutes as he disappeared through a back room. Ianto looked around him, taking in anything he could see. Anything he might be able to use as a weapon, as a chance to escape. The room really was deserted. There was nothing within Ianto's reach, nothing in the room. He decided to try and go straight to the source. He looked down to his cuffed hand and examined the cuff sat tightly around it. It was more of a heavy duty cuff, one Ianto had seen before. It was electronic and Ianto wished he could just call on Tosh and get her assistance. But that was impossible, he had to figure this out himself. He looked up, making sure John wasn't in the room. When he was satisfied, he looked back to the cuff. The red light blinked away on the top, but Ianto saw no obvious entry point to get to the wires or electronic crap beneath it. He closed his eyes and imagined what Tosh would do. She would have had him out of them in less time than it takes Jack to get naked. But Ianto knew it was his only hope. He looked up once more, seeing no sign of John, he looked back to the cuff. He moved it as much as he could, trying to make sense of the workings of it. There was no obvious key hole to pick. Ianto figured that trying to short out the hidden mechanism might be his only hope. It was obvious John controlled the cuffs, some sort of electronic key or something. Sometimes technology scared him.

Ianto tugged on the cuff, the other end clattering on the pipe. All of a sudden a small electronic charge surged from the cuff and into Ianto, giving him an electric shock. He flailed about, laying on the floor, as the surge coursed through his body. Parts of his body shook, he felt dizzy and felt as if he was going to be sick. His blurry eyes focused once more to see John stood over him.

"Oh did I forget to tell you about that little treat?!" John smiled. "Packs a punch doesn't it?" Ianto regained his composure and feeling in his body and sat up again.

"What was that?" Ianto asked him.

"A bright spark like you not figuring it out. The cuff is rigged, electric shocks...and I control them." John said raising his arm to show his wrist strap.

"Figures." Ianto said. John leant down and grabbed a handful of Ianto's hair, yanking his head bak roughly.

"Try and do that again, and an electric shock is the least of your worries." John snapped at him. He let go of Ianto's hair, leaving the tired man to sit stunned on the floor.

"What are we doing here John?" Ianto asked him.

"Just a bit of kiss chase with your beloved. Hoping I am the one doing the kissing." John took a bite of a roll he held in his hand. Ianto couldn't help but stare at the piece of bread, realising how hungry he actually felt. His captor looked at him and then to the roll he held. He crouched down beside Ianto. "Hungry?" John asked him. Ianto didn't want to give him the satisfaction of hearing the words, but his stomach was staring to speak for him.

"Like you care." Ianto replied. John got slightly closer to Ianto, almost sniffing him with glee. Ianto shuffled back slightly, his back crumpled against the wall.

"Oh I care. I don't want my play thing to starve now do I?"

"I am no ones play thing." Ianto said through gritted teeth, trying not to look directly at him. John ran his hand down the side of Ianto's head, feeling his soft hair. Ianto moved his head to the side, trying to get away from John's hand. His hand ran further down Ianto's neck and onto his chest. Ianto battered his hand away with his free hand.

"You want this, you need to work for it." John giggled slightly.

"Not a chance." Ianto growled back. Angered, John got up and paced away from him. He stopped, his back still facing Ianto.

"All in good time." John said turning back to Ianto, he threw the roll to him. Ianto caught it and gratefully took a bite. "It's a good thing I like you."


	11. Welcomed Visitors

Jack had finished his hundredth cup of coffee as he walked through the hub towards Tosh. Gwen and Owen were dozing on the sofa nearby leaving Tosh to crunch numbers.

"Anything?" Jack asked.

"Not sure. I have a few frequency peaks that appear to be same. These 3..."She said indicating some strange graphs and figures on the screen. "Are similar to the energy spikes from John's first travel here."

"Is there a way to trace it back to its origin?" Jack asked.

"If I knew what to look for, maybe. There is something beyond it. But I can't tell if its a planet, a place on earth or whatever it could be." Tosh said.

"But it could be where John came from, like his home?" Jack asked her.

"Without any experience or knowledge of other worlds, its hard to tell." Tosh said.

"But if it was, is there any way we can follow the rift back without being fried or sent to some random planet?" Jack looked at her.

"I just don't know. Time travel, travelling between worlds is not something I have done. We really need someone who has."

"Like me." A voice said from behind them. Jack and Tosh turned around to see the famillar and handsome looking man in front of them. The man known as The Doctor. Jack stepped forward and offered a hand to the young man.

"Doctor." He said. Behind them Gwen and Owen had woken from their short sleep and stood beside Tosh and Jack. The man shook Jack's hand.

"Um Jack." Owen said from behind them.

"Oh sorry, Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper and Toshiko Sato, meet The Doctor." Jack said. The Doctor nodded to them all. "What are you doing here Doctor?" Jack asked him.

"I received this." He said handing Jack an envelope. Jack opened it and pulled out some more photographs. Once again Jack could see photographs of Ianto taken without his knowledge. Another one, Jack was in the shot. Amongst the photographs was a small piece of plastic, almost the size of a camera's SD card.

"Who sent you this?" Jack asked him. The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and looked at Jack.

"Not sure, you could say I found it in my post box. Was going to ignore it at first, figuring you were playing some sort of trick. Then I found out what that is." He pointed to the card in Jack's hand. Jack handed it to Tosh. "Touch the small grey button." He instructed. Tosh did so and a famillar hologram materialised in front of them.

_"So Doctor is it...well if you are looking for something to do, I suggest you look up your old friend Jack Harkness. I have a feeling he is going to need your expertise. The life of his dear Tea Boy depends on you. But hear this, if you have plans on accompanying him then think again. This is between me and him." _ The figure of John disappeared and Te Doctor glared at Jack.

"What exactly is going on Jack?" He asked him.

"John has kidnapped Ianto and dragged him off to some far away world. And we have no idea where." Jack explained.

"Why does John think the Doctor can help?" Gwen asked.

"Tosh has narrowed down a possible location from the spikes. We are just not sure what lays beyond it." Jack described. He looked at the Doctor. "You know time travel, have been through more worm holes and rifts then we can imagine. Will you help me?"

"Like you need to ask Jack." The young man replied. "Show me what you have." He walked over to Tosh's screen.

"I have analyzed the frequencies from John's firs appearances on Earth and compared them with recent activity and the rift that opened in the hub, where he took Ianto back through. They are almost identical. But I have no idea where they track back too. I have some sort of co-ordinates but that's all I know."

"Well I happen to know a fair bit about the locations of many distant worlds, planets and the like. That to me looks like that is in the region of the Gamma Nebula. A few worlds around there, some nice some not so."

"So maybe John has taken Ianto to a world around there." Gwen wondered.

"Its possible, The Gamma Nebula is home of planets like Heuron, Couron, Kezna. These at least are liveable ones. Been to Kezna myself, full of rather raunchy ladies I must say. Seems sexual encounters are like water to these people."

"Give me directions." Owen smiled. Gwen smacked him on the arm.

"So there is a chance John has travelled to one of these planets?" Jack asked him.

"From the readings on here, that is more then likely." The Doctor replied.

"So which one?" Tosh asked.

"Is there anything here that would indicate which planet?" Jack asked him. "We can't waste time searching each one." The Doctor looked back to the screen, squinting as he focused on the screen. He started to mutter to himself, pressing buttons on the console and making notes on a nearby pad. The others stood by and watched in wonder.

"Is he alright?" Owen asked.

"Oh yeah, this is how the Doctor thinks." Jack replied, watching the man pace backwards and forwards, rubbing his head and muttering away. All of a sudden he stopped and looked back to Jack.

"What...what is it?" Jack asked him.

"If my calculations and memory are correct, these readings could indicate Couron. Its a basic planet, not as advanced as most. Quiet and normally a place vagabonds and criminals would hide out."

"That has to be it. John is the king of Vagabonds." Jack said. "Tosh can you fix a point on that planet?"

"Maybe, just never done it before." She admitted. The Doctor put a hand on her shaking hand as she tapped away at the keyboard.

"I can help you pretty lady."

Ianto wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep, but the hardness of the floor was proving to be a barrier. His energy was almost drained and he wanted to just lay down and sleep for days. Each time he managed to close his eyes he saw images of Jack, distressed and crying. Upset that Ianto was missing. Ianto silently prayed that Jack would find a way to him soon. He could take care of himself, and Jack knew that. But Ianto also knew that there was no way Jack would sit around and wait. He would want to find the nearest thing to hit, if it meant getting him closer to Ianto. That side of Jack was one of the main reasons Ianto loved him so. His courage, his resilience, his manly nature. It made Ianto go weak at the knees.

"Yeah, thats a good trait to have." John spoke up from where he had laid, a cigarette in hand.

"Will you stop reading my mind." Ianto said. "Its kind of intrusive."

"Like I care." John said. He stood up and walked over to Ianto. "And like I said. It is a good trait to have. It works well on Jack."

"What is your obsession with him? Why do all this?" Ianto asked him. John started to pace in front of Ianto.

"Jack is the type of person you love and hate at the same time. Makes me want him more."

"And you think taking me will make him fall into your arms? You have a twisted view of showing love."

"It is love and revenge sweet Ianto. No one gets away with rejecting and banishing me, even if he does have a hot ass."

"So if you want Jack to come to you, why drag me off to some far off planet?"

"Didn't you ever play hide and seek with your brothers?"

"I have a sister, and sometimes we did." Ianto answered.

"Its fun, so much planning and it drives the seeker crazy when they can't find where you are hiding. I live to drive Jack crazy."

"And you felt like you had to drag me into your school yard games?"

"Jack is like a puppet. He needs strings to make him do what you want. I am just pulling on them strings." He stepped closer to Ianto. "And if I pull hard enough...I can make him dance."

"We are not toys in your twisted play John." Ianto said. John knelt beside him once more. Ianto started to feel uneasy as John's hand laid on his leg, brushing slowly up the leg. Ianto squirmed, his heart beating faster then it should. He tried to back away but once again the wall behind was preventing him from doing so. He tried to bat John's arm away but John pulled his gun out and dug it in Ianto's ribs.

"Don't fight it." John said.

"I will fight you as long as I am able too." He said. John cocked the gun and duck it further into Ianto's side.

"I wouldn't try to move much Eye Candy, I may just loose my grip on this gun, and we wouldn't want that would we?" Ianto wanted to reply but the pain in his ribs was clouding his mind. He turned his head away from John, closing his eyes. He resigned himself to letting John do whatever he was planning, he knew fighting would be bad. He closed his eyes as John's hand moved slowly from his leg and around his man patch. He cringed as the hand moved, but all of a sudden it stopped and he heard John stand up. He opened his eyes and turned to look at John. He breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked the lords that were looking down on him.

"No need to thank them." John said. "I am saving you for later."


	12. Hitchhiker

Stood over a table of assorted weapons, Jack checked his gun for the hundredth time. He wanted to make sure he had all he needed as he had no idea what he was up against.

"You can't go alone." Owen said from behind him.

"I have too, this is between me and John." Jack said.

"Not anymore, it involves us all." Owen sat on the edge of the table.

"I can't put anymore of you in danger." Jack didn't look up to Owen. He carried on cleaning his gun, loading a few bullets into the chambers.

"I am okay with that." He said. "This is not personal anymore Jack. Not for us. He has to pay for taking Ianto."

"And I will make him pay." Jack looked up to him. "But I am doing it alone."

"Not a chance." Owen said.

"I am not debating this with you Owen." Jack said. "I am going alone."

"And you think you can fight off John by yourself and get Ianto back, unhurt."

"I have fought worse." Jack put his gun in its holster and picked up some extra bullets.

"You might have, but the only life you had to worry about was your own and you knew you would be brought back. You have Ianto to think about now and I hate to tell you this, but he won't come back from the dead."

"Don't you think I know that Owen!" Jack raised his voice. "John wants me, if I show up alone, he is less likely to hurt Ianto. I am not discussing this anymore Owen." He went back to the table and picked up the stun gun and knife that laid on the top. He put them in his pocket, not saying a word to Owen.

"Am I interrupting?" The Doctor asked.

"No." Jack said before Owen could chime in. Knowing he was beat, Owen reluctantly left Jack.

"Me and that lovely tech lady of yours has managed to stabilise a frequency. We are loading it into the rift manipulator and trying to set up our own rift. With it you should be able to ride it all the way through to Couron."

"Thanks, and thank you for helping. I am sure you were busy with more important things." Jack said.

"Not really, besides, I am not about to sit by while someone's life is in danger and I can help save him. Just wish I could take you to Couron. We could get there safely in the Tardis."

"You heard what the hologram said, if John knows you helped me..."

"I know. I just hope you find them." The Doctor said.

"I will." Jack replied.

"Jack, it's ready." Tosh called. Jack and The Doctor headed to Tosh's station. She handed him an ear piece, but it was different than their usual communication device.

"What is this?" Jack asked.

"I salvaged some parts from the alien long distance communicator we had in storage. I am hoping we can still communicate through the rift." Tosh said.

"Great thinking Tosh, thank you." Jack put it in his ear. The Doctor picked up Jack's wrist strap arm and ran his sonic screwdriver over it. "What was that for?"

"We managed to isolate the technology to be able to use it to open rifts remotely. Once you have found Ianto, you can come straight home."

"This can open Rifts now?" Jack asked.

"Yes, but there is no way of knowing for how long or how stable it will be in that form. Find Ianto, and come home or there is a chance you will both be trapped on that planet." Tosh said.

"Not a chance, John can travel though rifts, I will make him help me." He smiled. He looked to the Doctor. The two nodded in appreciation, knowing that no words were needed. Jack turned to look at Gwen and Owen.

"I wish you would let one of us come with you." Gwen said.

"I can't risk it. But I know you will be with me in spirit." Jack said.

"We will be waiting, try and stay in contact if you can." Owen said. Jack looked to Tosh and nodded. She pressed a button and a swirl of energy appeared in front of Jack. A small amount of wind started to whip around the hub, throwing loss papers and rubbish all over the place. Jack stepped forward and took one last look at his friends. He braced himself for the travel and stepped into the rift. As he disappeared, Gwen ran forward and dived in behind him. Before Owen could reach her, the rift closed behind them.

Jack fell through the rift and straight into a hedge in front of him. He just managed to tuck in as he hit the ground causing the roll to be less painful. His body stopped as it hit the hard ground. His body started to ache as he gently stood up. He didn't have time to count his bruises as he heard a rustling beside him. He pulled out his gun and pointed it towards the moving hedge beside him. He heard a grumble and looked confused. He knew that grumble, he recognised the voice. He pushed the hedge aside to see Gwen on the ground, brushing off the dirt.

"Gwen...what are you doing?" He asked holding a hand out to help her up. She gratefully accepted it and stood up.

"Well I..." She started to say.

"You jumped through after me didn't you? What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Jack yelled.

"I was thinking that you can't face John alone." Gwen admitted. "As much as you believe you can."

"Do you realise what you have done Gwen!" Jack was raging. "John wanted me alone. You have put Ianto's life in danger."

"It is already in danger Jack, and you need the help." Gwen said, not at all phased by Jack's anger.

"How could you be so stupid!" He yelled. "I need to do this alone."

"No you don't, you think you do but you don't. We are a team and if it was me or Tosh or Owen, Ianto would be beside you, helping you. That is what teams are for Jack. I am not entertaining your one man mission of destruction."

"This is my fight Gwen. Not yours!" He yelled storming away.

"So what, you are just going to turn away, refuse my help. You are so selfish sometimes Jack Harkness. You would rather risk the life of someone you love then take help from anyone!" Gwen called as she stalked after him.

"I would never risk Ianto's life or yours or anyones. But I know John, I know how he works. How that twisted mind of his works. I can't risk it." He said looking back at her.

"Sometimes we have to take that risk Jack." Gwen carried on walking behind him, surprised that his built up anger was increasing his ability to walk faster than he ever had.

"No I don't. You have, you have risked Ianto's life. That is the difference between me and you Gwen. I would obey orders if it meant keeping someone safe."

"He isn't safe Jack, and I am not going to sit around at the Hub waiting for you to call through. That is why you brought me into Torchwood remember. My need to know, to want to help. I couldn't let you do this alone." She picked up her pace and started to catch up with him. She put her hand on his arm and stopped him. He turned around. "I am here now and I am not going anywhere so deal with it." Jack looked at her, her beautiful big eyes looking defiantly at him. He knew that look, he had seen it before and he had to admit, that is what he like about her. The fact she wouldn't take no for an answer. He took a deep breath, looking at her.

"Okay, you are here now. So lets figure out where we are and find Ianto." Jack said. He turned back and carried on walking. He wasn't sure where he was walking too, but he knew he needed to carry on. He needed to find out if they were in the right place. Only then could he concentrate on finding Ianto.


	13. The First Move

Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews. I love them.

Sorry this chapter is so short.

Ianto had dozed for a few minutes, he had tried to resist it but it was no use. John himself had laid out on the bed, dozing away. Ianto had wanted to stay awake as he knew it was his only chance to find a way to free himself. With John off guard, Ianto could make a real effort to free himself. But every few minutes John would move indicating to Ianto that he wasn't fully asleep. Giving in, Ianto had put his head back and closed his eyes. He hadn't been asleep for long when he felt a hand pulling on his cuffed hand. At first he thought Jack had found him and was setting him free but when he opened his eyes and focused through the darkness of the room he could see John. He was un-cuffing the metal cuffs from the pole.

"What is going on?" Ianto asked him.

"Time to move." John said. He pulled Ianto off the floor and roughly pulled his arms together, cuffing the free hand back into the restraints. John used Ianto's cuffed hands to pull him forward. Ianto almost left his legs behind as he stumbled to catch up.

"Hey...what exactly is going on?"

"A good thing about being on this planet, you can read people's minds from quite a distance. And right now I am getting the familiar drone of Gwen Cooper yapping in Jack's ear. Which could mean only one thing...they are here. So it's time to move."

"Afraid are we?" Ianto smiled. John pulled him roughly through the dark room and towards the door. "You didn't think he would find me so soon?"

"He hasn't found you yet." John didn't look back to his prisoner. He carried on dragging him to the door.

"But now he is here, it has kind of ruined your plans." Ianto couldn't help but smile. John stopped and looked back to him.

"Actually, this is my plan. A bit of old fashioned chase. Will keep Jack on his toes and drive him crazy at the same time. Its fun." John replied. Ianto found himself being pulled out of the door of the run down shack of a home and into the dirty and cold streets. His feet were barely covered with the cloth makeshift shoes John had put on him. The cold cobbles of the streets could be felt through the material. But it was a relief from the tough material of his previous foot wear. John carried on through the streets, ducking through short cuts and dodging waste in the streets. Ianto almost fell over due to the force John was using to pull him. Ianto could feel the metal cuffs cutting into his wrists from the force of the pull.

"Hey!" He said as he almost fell over. "I will come with you, just quit with the pulling." He said.

"You really think I trust you not to run? Dream on pretty boy!"

"Where are we going now?" Ianto asked, not really expecting an answer. John, as expected, didn't answer. He rushed through the streets and almost immediately stumbled into two people, pulling a cart. As they stumbled into the cart, the force caused John and Ianto to fall to the ground with the same momentum that tipped the cart over. An assortment of pots, clay containers and bundles of linen fell to the ground.

"Hey." Said one of the men. John quickly picked himself up and confronted the men.

"You stupid..." He started to yell. But something stopped him and he turned to look at Ianto who was trying to stand up, his bound hands proving it was difficult. John roughly pulled him up by the arm.

"Hey what's going on with you two?" The other man said looking at the cuffs around Ianto's wrists. Ianto opened his mouth to speak but John was quick.

"He is a criminal, I am a bounty hunter and I am returning him to jail." John said.

"Wait ...no...I..." Ianto wanted to interrupt but John delivered a sharp elbow to his stomach and Ianto coughed out the pain that coursed through him.

"Silence!" John yelled. He reached down to grab a woollen sheet and threw it over Ianto's cuffed wrists, hiding them. He hurled a coin to the men and grabbed Ianto by the arm, running away from the scene. They were only a few yards away when they heard one of the men exclaim.

"Oi, thats no criminal!"

"Leave them Deni, its none of our business." The other man said. Ianto could tell the two men had read their minds and discovered that John was lying.

"Damn, I knew that lie wouldn't work." John said. "Couron's sure are pesky with their mind reading, how I managed to live here for so long without being lynched, I have no idea."

"Yeah, because it isn't that charm of yours!" Ianto coughed through the pain in his stomach.

"Well it charmed Jack. Are you jealous?" John laughed. Ianto stopped in his tracks, causing John to also stop.

"Of you...not a chance. You are not god's gift to the world."

"No but a great gift for Jack." He stepped closer to Ianto and put a hand on the side of his neck. "You could see for yourself..." He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, Ianto had kicked out catching John on the back of the knees. John fell over, hitting the cold ground. Ianto took no time running, hoping to get as far from him as he could. A sharp electric shock to his system caused Ianto to stop and collapse to the ground, wriggling about in pain. John got up and walked over to the flailing Ianto.

"You just don't learn do you?" John said. He pressed the button once more, sending another jolt through Ianto's body.

The young man's body convulsed.


	14. When a House is not a Home

Gwen felt as if she was constantly trying to catch up with Jack. He was moving a lot faster then she had seen him move and she was finding herself out of breath as she desperately tried to catch up with him. It didn't help that the land was full of hills and steep drops. As you climbed one hill, another drop was the greeting as you reach the top.

"Where exactly are we?" Gwen asked.

"I have no idea, at least John hasn't brought Ianto to some god forsaken horrible world."

"One thing we can be grateful for I guess." Gwen said. Her muscles were burning from the unscheduled work out, climbing hills was not in her plan for the day. They carried on walking for what seemed like hours when finally they came to a makeshift road. Jack stopped to catch his breath, giving Gwen a chance to find hers. She bent over, her hands on her knees panting away.

"Where too now?" She asked.

"Well its not quite yellow but I say we follow the Brick Road." Jack said.

"And then where? We don't exactly know where to start looking."

"We just ask the locals if they have seen a freak like John walking around with a well dressed young man. Not exactly something people will miss." Jack looked at her, a smile coming across his face. "We rest for a few minutes and then carry on." Jack finished. Gwen nodded and stood up straight finally managing to catch her breath. Jack tapped a button on his earpiece.

"Tosh, Owen can you hear me." A crackle sounded in his ear but the clear voices of his colleagues came through.

"Here, we can hear you. Its low but I can adjust for that." Tosh said.

"So are you on a planet with aliens and freaky looking creatures." Owen enquired.

"Not quite. Its a planet that looks similar to earth, just not as developed. More like the shanty towns of 3rd world countries." Jack described as he glanced at a few run down buildings in front of him.

"Makes you wonder why John came through to his planet?" Gwen wondered.

"It has to mean something to him." Jack said. "Owen do you fancy going through the old files in the archives, see if anything related to John and this planet pops out?"

"Not really, but if its going to help I will." He replied.

"Knew I could count on you. Tosh, carry on with the rift calculations, I don't want to lose any connection with you."

"Will do. Connection seems strong at this time."

"Thanks. We are signing off for now. Next contact in an hour." Jack turned his ear piece off and looked to Gwen. "Time to go and explore Oz." The two carried on down the dirty stone road. They passed many deserted and rundown buildings. As they got further along the buildings started to form some sort of small town, a few habituated buildings, a few makeshift shops. They could see a few natives going about their daily chores, not noticing the two strangers. Jack decided to approach one, hoping they spoke English and could help. He put a hand on the shoulder of a small lady as she tidied up a small wooden stall outside a building.

"Excuse me." Jack said. She whirled around and yelled at him.

"More strangers, go away!" She grunted.

"Yes we are strangers but I need your...wait did you say More? Have you seen more?"

"Not seen." She replied. Jack looked at Gwen who just shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you mean...Seen?" Jack asked. The lady looked at him, staring into his eyes. Jack felt slightly uncomfortable and slightly freaked out.

"You are looking for him?" She said.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"A man, you are looking for him. He is very important to you." She carried on.

"What do you know about it?" Gwen asked her. The lady didn't look at her, she fixed her gaze on Jack.

"How do you know that?" Jack asked.

"You are not exactly hiding your feelings." She said going back to her stall. "I can read you like a book."

"Read him?" Gwen asked.

"You are a mind reader?" Jack asked.

"We all are, that is the power of Couron." The lady replied.

"So have you seen this man? Well there is two of them." Jack said.

"Two of them ha! What's the problem young man, can't decide which one?" The lady playfully jabbed her elbow into his ribs. Gwen tried to hide her giggle.

"It's not like that. My friend was taken by this other guy and I want to bring him back home before something terrible happens to him. Have you see them?"

"The man you are looking for has a small home 3 streets along. A small brick unit, green door. But i haven't seen them today." She described, pointing further down the road they were stood in.

"That way?" Gwen asked. The lady nodded in agreement. Jack thanked her and the two travellers rushed down the road to find the street they needed. Sure enough as they came to the third street down, they could see a row of buildings and in the middle there was a building with a green door.

"This is classed as a house? Its so run down, I bet even the rats run from it." Gwen pointed out.

"John doesn't stay in one place for long, this is probably just a passing house. Somewhere he lays low for a day or two before he moves to his next diabolical plan."

"Did you just say diabolical? You sound like someone from The Famous Five." Gwen smiled. They walked up to the door and Jack raised his hand to knock. "Are you really going to knock?" Jack looked at her, thinking it over.

"Actually, no." He exclaimed. He raised his foot and kicked the door. It swung open and almost fell off its rusty hinges. Jack and Gwen stood in the middle of a deserted room. There was nothing in front of them, it was almost empty.

"How can we be sure this is John's place?" Gwen asked the obvious.

"Dark, bare, hardly fit for critters and low lifes...yeah this is John place." Jack said.

"What's that?" Gwen pointed to a random item across from them. Jack walked over and picked up a posh leather mans suit shoe.

"Its Ianto's shoes." He said, an air of disbelief in his voice.

"Why wouldn't he be wearing them?" Gwen joined Jack.

"I don't know. I am more worried about where they are now."

"He probably sensed we were coming, he could have left ages ago." Gwen said.

"Then we need to find out where he went."

"How?"

"These people can read minds, for some reason we can't. So they must know something, just like that lady knew we were looking for Ianto. Someone could have seen them, read the mind of a passing person. Someone here knows." Jack headed for the door, Gwen struggling to keep up with him. They stood on the doorstep of the building looking up and down the deserted road.

"Where now?" Gwen glanced to the right and then left, unsure of the next move.

"We search everywhere until we find him."


End file.
